On April 6th, the energy storage market received a boost in California when state regulators authorized $196 million in new rebates for customers who install onsite (behind the meter) energy storage systems.
Background
The change occurs under the California Self Generation Incentive Program (“SGIP”). SGIP provides a financial rebate to energy customers who install new
In our first post, the Stoel Rives’ Energy Team provided a summary of energy related bills introduced by California legislators during the first half of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. Provided below is a summary of changes to bills we have been following, as well as a list of energy related bills not included in our previous entry. We will continue to monitor and update all energy related bills as the legislative session proceeds.
Amended Bills
AB 35 (Quirk, D): Residential and nonresidential buildings: energy savings program.
STATUS: Introduced December 15, 2016; amended March 23, 2017.
AB 655 (O’Donnell, D): California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.
STATUS: Introduced February 14, 2017; amended March 23, 2017.
Continue Reading Updates to Energy Related Bills in the 2017-2018 California Legislative Session
In what some commentators are calling the first of its kind, Maryland’s legislature has passed a bill that would allow taxpayers to claim a state income tax credit equal to 30% of the installed cost of an energy storage system. The bill would cap the credit amount at $75,000 for a commercial installation or $5,000
Two new bills, similar in concept but differing in approach, seek to align renewable energy output with peak electricity demand. Currently, the California Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) requires investor-owned utilities to procure 50% of total retail sales of electricity from renewable energy resources by 2030. If enacted, the bills would expand the RPS from a clean energy procurement mechanism to include, for the first time, the procurement of non-fossil fuel based capacity resources.
Continue Reading California Lawmakers Introduce Clean Peak Standard Legislation
February 17, 2017 marked the deadline by which legislators had to introduce bills for the first half of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. The Stoel Rives’ Energy Team has been and will continue to monitor bills throughout the two-year session and will provide periodic updates as to the status of those bills. Most noteworthy here is SB 584 which would require 100% of all electricity sold in California at retail to be generated by eligible renewable energy resources by December 31, 2045. A summary of SB 584 is provided below, in addition to the status and summary of other energy related bills Stoel Rives is monitoring, starting with a set of bills related to energy storage.
Please also reference our Oil & Gas post summarizing bills related to oil and gas law here.
SB 584 (De León). California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program.
Under existing law, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations, while local publicly owned electric utilities, as defined, are under the direction of their governing boards. The California Renewables Portfolio Standard Program requires the CPUC to establish a renewables portfolio standard requiring all retail sellers, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources, as defined, so that the total kilowatt-hours of those products sold to their retail end-use customers achieves 25% of retail sales by December 31, 2016, 33% by December 31, 2020, 40% by December 31, 2024, 45% by December 31, 2027, and 50% by December 31, 2030. The program additionally requires each local publicly owned electric utility, as defined, to procure a minimum quantity of electricity products from eligible renewable energy resources to achieve the procurement requirements established by the program. The Legislature has separately declared that its intent in implementing the program is to attain, among other targets for sale of eligible renewable resources, the target of 50% of total retail sales of electricity by December 31, 2030. This bill would revise those legislative findings and declarations to state that the goal of the program is to achieve that 50% target by December 31, 2025, and for all electricity sold at retail to be generated by eligible renewable energy resources by December 31, 2045.
Bills Related to Energy Storage
AB 914 (Mullin, D): Transmission planning: energy storage and demand response.
STATUS: Introduced February 16, 2017; awaiting referral.
Existing law vests the CPUC with jurisdiction over the delivery of electrical services, provides for the establishment of an Independent System Operator (“ISO”) as a nonprofit public benefit corporation and requires the ISO to make certain filings with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) and to seek authority from FERC to give ISO the ability to secure generating and transmission resources necessary to guarantee achievement of planning and operating reserve criteria no less stringent than those established by the Western Electricity Coordinating Council and the North American Electric Reliability Council. If passed, this bill would require the CPUC, in its participation in the ISO’s transmission planning process, to promote the consideration of the use of energy storage systems and demand response as means to address the state’s transmission needs before the use of transmission wires.
AB 1030 (Ting, D): Energy storage systems.
STATUS: Introduced February 16, 2017; awaiting referral.
Existing law requires the CPUC to open a proceeding to determine appropriate targets, if any, for each load-serving entity to procure viable and cost-effective energy storage systems to be achieved by December 31, 2015, and December 31, 2020. If determined to be appropriate, the CPUC is required to adopt the procurement targets and to reevaluate all of these determinations not less than once every three years. AB 1030 would require the CPUC to establish a program to incentivize residential and commercial customers to adopt energy storage systems.
SB 356 (Skinner, D): Energy storage systems.
STATUS: Introduced February 14, 2017; awaiting referral..
Under current law, the CPUC has regulatory authority over public utilities, including electrical corporations. Current law requires the commission to open a proceeding to determine appropriate targets, if any, for each load-serving entity, as defined, to procure viable and cost-effective energy storage systems to be achieved by December 31, 2015, and December 31, 2020. This bill would make a non-substantive change in legislative findings and declarations adopted with the above-described energy storage system requirements.
Continue Reading California Energy Related Bills Introduced in the 2017-2018 Legislative Session
Around the country clean energy resources, energy efficiency and demand response are quickly being adopted alongside more traditional resources. Southern California Edison (“SCE”) recently contracted for an assortment of clean energy resources that will be used in a groundbreaking attempt to see whether those resources can supply electricity to a densely populated area – Orange
I just wanted to pass along word to readers that Stoel Rives partner and Renewable + Law blog author Jon Wellinghoff will be leaving us to join SolarCity as their new Chief Policy Officer. Read SolarCity’s official announcement. We’ve enjoyed working with Jon as a member of the Stoel Rives Energy Team. We’d like
In the biggest consumer energy story of the day, and perhaps the decade, the U.S. Supreme Court today upheld FERC’s jurisdictional authority in FERC Order 745. Read the Decision here (PDF). The so called Demand Response Rule permits consumer energy products and services, such as demand response, to participate in wholesale energy markets, and to
Last Friday, September 11, 2015 was the final day for California legislators to pass bills out of the Legislature and on to Governor Jerry Brown for consideration. This year’s crop of bills included something for both sides of the aisle on energy and climate change issues: from the proposed repeal of AB 32, the California law mandating greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions, to bills to set a higher GHG reduction target for 2050 and cut petroleum use in half, and from a proposed leap in the state renewable portfolio standard (RPS) to 50% and incentives for geothermal, biomethane, and alternative fuels, to the repeal of solar water heating loan incentives. Some big ticket items passed, most failed to pass out of the Legislature before the deadline and can be considered in 2016 during for the second half of the two-year California legislative session. Time for the post-mortem.
Continue Reading California Legislative Session Wrap-up
We recently learned that San Diego Gas and Electric has issued a 2014 All Source Request for Offers (RFO).
The RFO requests offers for up to 800 MW from the following resources:
The RFO is authorized by